A man is in critical condition after being stabbed during a fight inside an occupied warehouse in Barcelona’s Sant Martí district on Friday afternoon. The Catalan police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of attempted homicide in connection with the incident.
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The altercation took place at approximately 3 PM inside a dilapidated, squatted building on Carrer de Bolívia, in the Provençals del Poblenou neighbourhood. According to a report from El Caso, the two men, cohabiting in the warehouse, began a dispute; reasons remain under investigation. The argument escalated, resulting in one man allegedly stabbing the other with a knife.
Emergency services, including several Mossos patrols and units from the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques (SEM), quickly responded to the scene. Paramedics treated the victim, a Moroccan man with seven prior police records, for severe injuries before transferring him to hospital in critical condition.
A Cycle of Violence and Displacement
Officers arrested the alleged attacker, also a Moroccan national, at the scene. Police sources confirmed he arrived in Catalonia just six months ago and has since accumulated two police records.
This violent episode is not isolated; it’s the latest chapter in a story of social precarity and conflict in the area. The occupied warehouse on Carrer de Bolívia is located directly behind the former La Escocesa factory, an industrial site with a recent history of violence and evictions. Last autumn, La Escocesa saw two “pitched battles” in less than a week, involving rival groups of occupants, as described by police.
These clashes caused multiple injuries, prompting the Barcelona City Council to act. The city’s fire brigade then reported severe structural damage and an “imminent risk of collapse,” leading the council to order an eviction on 10th October.
The Aftermath of the La Escocesa Eviction
Approximately one hundred people, mostly Sub-Saharan and involved in the scrap metal trade, were displaced from La Escocesa. Afterwards, many sought shelter elsewhere in the neighbourhood. A significant number, particularly those of Maghrebi origin, then moved into the abandoned warehouse on Carrer de Bolívia, where Friday’s stabbing occurred.
The incident brings recurring problems of violence and insecure housing in the district back into sharp focus. Knife crime remains a persistent concern across Barcelona. For example, in Sant Andreu, a young man, Jahzeel Gálvez, died defending his partner from an attacker. Additionally, a recent fatal stabbing in L’Hospitalet led to an arrest in a woman’s death.
The Mossos d’Esquadra have opened an investigation to formally clarify the circumstances and motive behind Friday’s attack. For residents of Provençals del Poblenou, however, it serves as a grim reminder of the persistent conflict plaguing this corner of the city.
